Abstract

Design of a scaffold with convenient mechanical properties to emulate bone structure is a major challenge for bone tissue engineers. In this study, porous ceramic scaffolds containing various weight fractions of nano β-tricalcium phosphate (nβ-TCP) (with a particle size of about 50-70 nm) were prepared by the replication method. Synthesised scaffolds were then coated with poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) for 30 and 60 sec. According to the morphological and mechanical tests, it was determined that synthesised scaffold containing 50 wt. of nβ-TCP with a coating time of 30 sec showed desirable properties in bone tissue engineering. The bioactivity of this scaffold indicated that the bone-like apatite layers were well formed on the nanocomposite scaffold. Cell culture study showed a significant increase in cell proliferation between the coated, uncoated and control sample after 5 days of cell culturing. The results confirm that this nanocomposite scaffold has good potential for bone tissue engineering applications. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.